On most of my hikes along the Front Range of Colorado (I am 50 going on 51), I've used the 12-60 and 50-200 ZD lenses, though this past summer I did not yet have any of the SHG lenses. There is indeed weight to the ZD 35-100, though I am going to give it a try this coming spring, summer and fall. Enjoy your setup, for in the end, that is what works for you.

Roger:

I have similar set up as you do and I will turn 53 later this month. I do hike in the Sierra. I posted a photo last week I took at Tahoe with the 35-100mm. The trail was not particularly long but it involved snowshoes, trekking poles, hard snow, ice and a descent about 600 feet or so over a distance of a mile and one-half each way. I even crossed a very small stream. I managed this with the cotton carrier with little trouble. (I wasn't thinking about the size and weight of the set up)

The cotton carrier vest makes it okay for me to haul around the 35-100mm on a hike. It takes the weight from my neck distributes it to my shoulders. It provides balance and more important it keeps the camera from swinging around. (Sir Isaac Newton said something about a body in motion) You don't want to have the 35-100mm mounted on an E-5 swinging around your neck. It sits in a holster against your chest. It has straps to connect the camera to the vest in case you let go when shooting. It is almost Craig proof.